What Is Beef roast, tri-tip and How Can I Use It?
If beef roast, tri-tip has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 2 recipes to try it in.
Key Points
- A tri-tip is a small, triangular bottom-sirloin roast, a California barbecue favorite.
- It is beefy and fairly tender, sitting between a cheap round and a pricey rib roast.
- Cook it hot and fast, grilled or roasted, and pull it at 130°F (54°C) for medium-rare.
- Its grain runs two ways, so cut the triangle in two and slice each half across its grain.
What is beef roast, tri-tip?
A beef tri-tip is a small, triangular beef roast cut from the bottom sirloin, usually 1½ to 2½ pounds (700 g to 1.1 kg). It is a California barbecue classic, beefy and reasonably tender, sitting nicely between a cheap round roast and a pricey rib roast.
For years it was a regional secret, often ground into burger before Santa Maria pitmasters turned it into the star of the grill. It has plenty of flavor and just enough marbling to stay juicy when cooked right.
Cooking Tri-Tip
Tri-tip wants high, fast heat and a rare to medium-rare finish, the opposite of a slow braising cut.
The classic move is the grill. Sear it hard over direct heat for a crust, then finish over indirect heat and pull it at 130°F (54°C) for medium-rare, as in a Tender Grilled Tri-Tip or a smoky Lompoc Tri-Tip Barbecue.
It roasts the same way in a hot oven, seared first and then finished through.
The catch with tri-tip is the grain. It runs in two different directions across the triangle, so you cannot carve the whole roast in one direction. Cut it in two where the grain changes, then slice each piece thin across its own grain.
Buying and Storing
Look for a tri-tip with a decent fat cap and even marbling; leave the fat on while it cooks and trim afterward. Figure on about ⅓ to ½ pound (150 to 225 g) per person.
Keep it raw on the bottom shelf of the fridge and cook within three to five days, or wrap it tight and freeze up to a year. Leftover tri-tip, sliced thin, makes excellent steak sandwiches and keeps three to four days.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 烤牛肉，三尖
- British (UK) term
- Beef roast, tri-tip
- en français
- rôti de boeuf, tri-tip
- en español
- asado de carne de res, tri-tip
Recipes using beef roast, tri-tip
There are 2 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Lompoc Tri-Tip Barbecue
Santa Maria-style grilled tri-tip marinated 24 hours in red wine, olive oil, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and garlic. Central California barbecue at its finest.
Tender Grilled Tri-Tip
Tender grilled tri-tip with a four-ingredient soy and onion soup mix marinade. Santa Maria style California barbecue, sliced thick, finished rare on the grill for a juicy, beefy crust.
